Even with multiple releases from a couple of its core franchises, 2017 wasn't quite the booming year many expected it to be for EA. Two of its big launches, Mass Effect Andromeda and Star Wars Battlefront 2 were met with disappointment from fans, with the latter causing a massive controversy over loot boxes and predatory microtransaction features. With the pressure mounting and all eyes turning to what's next for the company, EA appears to have decided to start over on its next Dragon Age title.

According to sources that spoke to Kotaku's Jason Schreier, the next Dragon Age game, which was earlier quasi-confirmed by Mark Darrah, has recently been completely rebooted. Details on the upcoming RPG are pretty scarce, but according to the sources, the reboot was done in order to implement more live elements and services into the game. While this news may be alarming to fans considering that the franchise is deeply rooted within the single player space, the sources went on to confirm that the upcoming RPG will still continue to place a heavy focus on narrative and compelling characters.

The talk of live services being added to a game in development should sound a little familiar, as late last year Visceral's former Star Wars project was moved to a different studio in order to incorporate more live and subscription-based services in games. While the disastrous launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2 may change those plans slightly, there's no denying that EA is constantly looking for ways to keep players coming back day after day. While fans may never know the extent of the Dragon Age 4 reboot, the delay likely ensures that the final product not only feels solid but features enough things to do in order to keep fans engaged throughout the experience.

Like EA, BioWare also suffered in 2017 as well. The aforementioned Mass Effect Andromeda underperformed with critics and fans alike, becoming an easy target largely due to odd facial animations, poor technical performance, and lackluster writing. As a result, BioWare Montreal was absorbed into EA Motive and the Mass Effect franchise was put on ice. On top of that, Mike Laidlaw, the creative director of Dragon Age, left the company in October after 14 years.

Dragon Age 4 is currently in development, without a release date or confirmed platforms.

Source: Kotaku